“Nature endowed him with a body distinguished by its slimness and posture and quite consistent with its noble spirit... He had an expressive face, sparkling eyes, a noble-shaped nose,... a rather long neck, a very broad chest, toned stomach, muscular thighs, strong and slender legs. But you'd say you've never seen anything more graceful than his fingers. His speech was so sweet and witty that nothing upset his listeners more than its ending."
Joachim Camerarius, contemporary of Dürer
A. Durer. Self-portrait. 1498
1498. Young and dressed in Italian fashion, already married by this time, the artist, returning from his trip to Italy, wrote on the wall under the window: “I wrote this from myself. I was 26 years old. Albrecht Durer."
Prado Museum, Madrid
Dürer placed his self-portraits in many paintings, he signed full name Almost all of his works were monogrammed on engravings and drawings. It was not customary in those days to sign even large works, because in Durer’s era the artist had the status of an artisan, an impersonal executor of orders. Self-portraits for Dürer were simply a natural way of self-expression and self-discovery. In the history of art they became important event: laid the foundation for the existence of a new genre in painting and at the same time served as an impetus for a reassessment of the status of the artist.
These Dürer self-portraits intrigue and fascinate us to this day, for it is incomprehensible how a gloomy mystic, the author of “Apocalypse” and “Passion” with a handsome man and a fashionista, an author of treatises on art with a failed poet, and a fortification specialist who dreamed of coexisting in this man learn to dance?!
Meanwhile, Dürer’s horoscope, compiled by a contemporary astrologer, described the artist’s character as follows: he is prey, has exceptional talent as a painter, he is a successful lover, he is attracted to many women at once; frank and straightforward, loves weapons and willingly travels. He will never fall into poverty, but he will never get rich either. He will have only one wife.
Indeed, Dürer had only one wife, Agnes, he had his own decent house and he loved to travel. At the age of 18, he went on his first trip to Germany, then Italy and the Netherlands. He always hesitated to return to Nuremberg. “Oh, how I will freeze without the sun!” he wrote with bitter regret to his friend Wilibald Pirkheimer. Too many of Dürer’s disappointments were associated with his hometown, but unconditional recognition awaited him everywhere abroad. Rumor about the traveling Dürer preceded him, everywhere he was greeted by admirers with generous gifts, and Dürer made new acquaintances, painted coats of arms and painted portraits.
He was incredibly greedy for new impressions, many of which he described in his travel diaries and then used in his painting. One day he rushed to Zealand to see a whale that had washed ashore. This journey ended in failure: Dürer never saw the whale, and he himself almost died during a storm. Another time he witnessed a festive procession in Antorf. Noisily accompanied by drummers and trumpeters, representatives of all classes and professions moved around the city, and behind them “many carts, disguised figures on ships and other structures” with wise men, prophets and saints. At the end followed a large dragon, led by St. Margarita with her maidens; she was extraordinarily beautiful. And in Brussels, Dürer was amazed by the huge bed he saw in the palace of Heinrich von Nassau, which served for the owner’s amusement, on which he used to lay up to fifty drunken guests at once. Everywhere Dürer looked for exotic models: he painted a black man, the “Negress Katherine,” a rhinoceros, a “monstrous pig,” or conjoined twins.
Dürer was absolutely delighted by beautiful things. But the biggest shock was the treasures taken by Cortes from the Golden Country of Mexico, which he saw in the Brussels palace. Among them were a sun made of pure gold, a whole fathom wide, the same moon made of pure silver, skillfully made weapons and other most skillful things. “And throughout my entire life I have never seen anything that has pleased my heart as much as these things,” Dürer wrote in his diary.
The love for elegant things forced Dürer to constantly buy and exchange more and more new acquisitions for engravings, which he constantly sent to Nuremberg in whole chests. What was not among Dürer's trophies: Calcutta nuts, an ancient Turkish whip, parrots donated by the Portuguese merchant Rodrigo d'Amada, bull horns, an indispensable attribute of the still life "Vanitas vanitatis" skull, bowls made of maple wood, viewing glasses, dried cuttlefish, large fish scales, a monkey, a moose hoof, smoking pipes, a large tortoiseshell and a lot of other things. Dürer constantly brought into the house items that were useless for the household. But more than anything else, he, of course, valued professional accessories. He spared no expense in purchasing the best German, Dutch, Italian paper, goose and swan feathers, copper sheets, paints, brushes, silver pencils and engraving tools.
He loved giving gifts and, it seems, loved receiving them no less. The gifts that admirers sent to their idol sometimes reached unimaginable proportions: sometimes a hundred oysters, sometimes twelve jugs of wine. He gave away engravings and sometimes paintings, saved a variety of rarities for gifts to his friends and distributed tips, which, however, he very pedantically recorded in his travel diaries.
Another passion of Dürer was his love of clothes. He spent a lot of money on purchasing numerous fur coats, brocade, velvet and satin. He preferred snow-white embroidered vases with wide elbow-length sleeves and elegant headdresses in Italian fashion. He carefully thought out the color combinations and style of his clothes and selected accessories to go with them. Hairstyle was no less important for Dürer. The artist’s contemporary Lorenz Beheim complained in a letter about Durer’s delays in completing the commissioned portrait, mentioning “his boy” who terribly dislikes Durer’s beard (its daily curling and styling takes away the time needed to paint the portrait), and therefore “he would be better off shaving it off.” ".
But gloves were not easy for Dürer fashion accessory, intended to protect and decorate his hands, the gloves were a symbol that marked his chosenness, because his hands were not just beautiful, they were the hands of a genius.
The hardness and precision of his hand were legendary. Once in Venice, the famous Italian Giovanni Bellini came to Dürer and asked: “I would like you to give me one of those brushes with which you paint your hair.” Then Albrecht, without hesitation at all, handed him different brushes, similar to those that Bellini used, and invited him to choose the one he liked best, or, if you like, take everything. But Bellini expected to see some special brushes. To convince Bellini otherwise, Albrecht grabbed one of the ordinary brushes and masterfully painted long wavy hair, which women usually wear. Bellini watched him in amazement and subsequently admitted to many that he would not have believed anyone in the world who would have told about this if he had not seen it with his own eyes.
Dürer's contemporary, Christophe Scheirl, told how the maids more than once diligently tried to brush away the cobwebs painted by Dürer, and how Dürer's dog once licked the portrait, mistaking it for its owner.
Although Dürer considered himself a melancholic person, his disposition was not distinguished by “neither gloomy severity nor unbearable importance; and he did not at all believe that the sweetness and fun of life are incompatible with honor and decency,” as Joachim Camerari wrote. And indeed, Albrecht’s diaries are full of similar entries: “... spent 5 stivers on a swim and drank with friends,” “lost 7 stivers to Mr. Hans Ebner at the Mirror Tavern, etc. Dürer was a regular at the then fashionable public baths, where he found his sitters without spending extra time persuading them to pose. In one of his engravings (“Men’s Bath”), Dürer, according to researchers, depicted himself as a flutist.
Since childhood, Dürer loved music and even tried to play music himself on the lute. He was friends with the musicians and created several of their portraits. In his preface to the “Book of Painting,” Dürer recommended that young men learning the craft of an artist be distracted by a short game of musical instruments“in order to warm the blood,” so that they would not become melancholy from excessive exercise. Dürer often portrayed himself as a musician.
Undoubtedly, Dürer was fascinated by his own reflection in the mirror and considered himself an attractive man, as he mentioned in letters to his friend Willibald Pirkheimer. And nothing speaks of this more eloquently than the self-portraits that Dürer created throughout his life. Even sick and emaciated, Dürer is always beautiful.
Throughout his life, Dürer obsessively tried to find a formula for beauty with a ruler and a compass. In his early treatises on painting, he wrote: “...what is beautiful - I don’t know that... No one except God can judge the beautiful.” But no matter how much time he spent searching perfect proportions human body, the formula of beauty was known to him in other ways, “inscrutable”. It was not in vain that he outlived fifteen of his brothers and sisters, and two plague epidemics did not touch him with their deadening breath, and Durer’s beauty was evidence of his chosenness and an expression of his own eternal desire for harmony.
The very first self-portrait of 13-year-old Dürer, which he drew with a silver pencil while being an apprentice to his father, the goldsmith Albrecht Dürer Sr. It says: “It was I who drew myself in the mirror in 1484, when I was still a child. Albrecht Durer"
3. "Self-portrait with a thistle" (in early New German this plant was called "marital fidelity") There is also a version of "Self-portrait with a holly" Dürer created in 1493 in Basel, where he worked in a workshop unknown artist. This is the first self-portrait painted in oil, but not on board, as was common at that time among German artists, but on parchment glued to canvas. He sent this portrait home, accompanying it with the couplet “My work is going on, as heaven ordered.” The self-portrait is in the Louvre
Self-portrait from 1500. The artist painted himself strictly from the front, which was only allowed in images of Christ. “I, Albrecht Dürer, Nuremberger, painted myself in eternal colors at the age of 28,” the inscription reads. Dürer's self-identification with Christ in this portrait predetermined the subsequent images of Christ that he created; they always had similarities with the artist himself. The portrait is in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich
Adoration of the Magi (1504). The artist depicted himself as one of the Magi. The plaque is kept in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence
In Venice, in the church of San Bartolomeo, Dürer painted the painting “Feast of the Rosary,” where, according to custom, Italian masters, placed his image in a prominent place: from the depths, the elegant Dürer is closely watching the viewer. In his hands he holds an unfolded sheet of paper with an inscription in Latin: “Done in five months. Albrecht Durer, German, 1506"
The painting is kept in the National Gallery in Prague
Qty 406 | JPG format | Resolution ~800x1000 | Size 82 MB
Albrecht Durer(German) Albrecht Durer, May 21, 1471, Nuremberg - April 6, 1528, Nuremberg) - German painter and graphic artist, one of the greatest masters of Western European Renaissance art.
Dürer was born on May 21, 1471 in Nuremberg, in the family of a jeweler who came to this German city from Hungary in the middle of the 15th century. This family grew up with 8 children, of which the future great artist was the third child and second son. His father, Alberecht Durer Sr., was a goldsmith; he literally translated his Hungarian surname Aitoshi into German as Thurer, later it began to be written as Durer. At first, the father tried to get his son interested in jewelry, but he discovered his son’s talent as an artist.
At the age of 15, Albrecht was sent to study in the studio of the leading Nuremberg artist of the time, Michael Wolgemut. There Dürer mastered not only painting, but also engraving on wood and copper. His studies in 1490 traditionally ended with a journey - over four years the young man traveled to a number of cities in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, continuing to improve in fine arts and materials processing.
Emperor Maximillian I, 1519 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
In 1494 Dürer returned to Nuremberg and soon after got married. Then, in the same year, he took a trip to Italy, where he became acquainted with the works of Mantegna, Polaiolo, Lorenzo di Credi and other masters. In 1495 Dürer returned to hometown and over the next ten years he created a significant part of his engravings, which have now become famous.
Paumgartner Altar. Left part, 1500-1504
Paumgartner Altar. Right side, 1500-1504
In 1505 Dürer again travels to Italy. In 1520, the artist traveled to the Netherlands, where he fell victim to an unknown disease, which then tormented him for the rest of his life. IN recent years Albrecht Dürer's life paid a lot of attention to improving defensive fortifications, which was caused by the development firearms. In his work “Guide to the Strengthening of Cities, Castles and Gorges,” published in 1527, Dürer describes, in particular, the fundamental new type fortifications, which he called bastea.
Albrecht Dürer died on April 6, 1528 in his homeland in Nuremberg.
Magic square Durer
Dürer composed the first so-called magic square in Europe, depicted in his engraving “Melancholy”. Dürer's merit lies in the fact that he was able to fit the numbers from 1 to 16 into a drawn square in such a way that the sum 34 was obtained not only by adding the numbers vertically, horizontally and diagonally, but also in all four quarters, in the central quadrangle, and even when adding four corner cells. Dürer also managed to include in the table the year of creation of the engraving “Melancholy” (1514).
Melancholy, 1514
Melancholy. Magic Square (Fragment), 1514
Self-portraits of Dürer
In Dürer's work, a majestic and courageous, truly humanistic image of a man of a difficult era was created. “Self-Portrait” (1500. Alte Pinakothek. Munich) occupies a special place not only in German, but in everything European art, reflecting the depth and inconsistency of the creative consciousness that stood on the verge of two eras.
Durer's self-portrait mature years, 1500
In this self-portrait, the artist tried to connect the old system of proportions with the new Renaissance teaching on the proportions of the human body. Striving to overcome the conventions of old art, Dürer was the first of the German artists to master advanced artistic achievements Renaissance Italy. Like Leonardo, he embodied the typical Renaissance type of artist-scientist, combining the rational, scientific knowledge real world with his deep philosophical understanding and the transformative, dynamic, passionate imagination of the artist.
Self-portrait (silver pencil drawing, 1484), Albertina, Vienna
Self-portrait, 1493, Louvre, Paris
Self-portrait, 1498, Prado, Madrid
Engravings
Dürer was the first German artist to work simultaneously in both types of engraving - on wood and on copper. He achieved extraordinary expressiveness in wood engraving, reforming the traditional manner of work and using working techniques that had developed in metal engraving. At the end of the 90s. Dürer created a number of excellent woodcuts, including one of his masterpieces - a series of woodcuts "Apocalypse" (1498), which are a successful combination of late Gothic artistic language and the stylistics of the Italian Renaissance.
"Apocalypse" series, 1498
"Apocalypse" series, 1498
In 1513-1514. Dürer created three graphic sheets that went down in the history of art under the name “Mastery Engravings”: “Knight, Death and the Devil”, “Saint Jerome in the Cell” and “Melancholy”. The engraving “Adam and Eve” (1504) is considered a masterpiece of engraving on metal by Durer.
Dürer was born in Nuremberg, the main center of German humanism. His artistic talent business qualities and worldview were formed under the influence of three people who played the most important role in his life: his father, a Hungarian jeweler; godfather Koberger, who left jewelry art and took up publishing; and his closest friend, Wilibald Pirkheimer, an outstanding humanist who introduced young artist with new Renaissance ideas and works of Italian masters. Dürer mastered the basics of painting and woodcut printing in the workshop of the artist Michael Wolgemut. After several years of study, he went to Colmar to meet the great engraver Martin Schongauer, but did not find him alive. He spent 1492-1494 in Basel, the largest center for the production of illustrated books. Here the young artist became interested in woodcuts and copper engraving. Finally, having also visited Strasbourg, Dürer returned to his homeland, but soon went to Venice. Along the way, the master completed several remarkable watercolor landscapes, which are among the first works of this genre in Western European art. But the artist, apparently, was not attracted to the technique of “sfumato”, which became widespread at the very beginning of the 16th century - the vague softness of outlines in painting, and he continued to paint in a rigid linear style.
Dürer spoke enthusiastically about his life, perhaps motivated by vanity; he described various aspects of it in a family chronicle, in a diary dedicated to a trip to the Netherlands, and in several personal letters. Dürer's self-portraits, even more than his own words, reveal a constant desire for self-knowledge and the formation of one's own personality.
Dürer created “Self-Portrait with a Thistle” in 1493 in Basel, where he worked in the workshop of an unknown artist. This is the first self-portrait painted in oil, but not on board, as was common among German artists at that time, but on parchment glued to canvas. Here the artist is twenty-two years old. The graceful and sinuous contours of his smart clothes are echoed wavy lines long blond hair. He sent this portrait home, accompanying it with the couplet “My business is going on, as heaven ordered.” The self-portrait is in the Louvre.
Self-portrait, 1493. Louvre, Paris
In the Madrid Self-Portrait (1498, Prado), Dürer appears as a successful man. His hands rest on the parapet, the view from the window opens behind him. Here he is already shown with a beard, dressed in the dress of a rich burgher. This portrait reflects the Renaissance approach to the interpretation of the personality of the artist, who from now on should be considered not as a humble artisan, but as a person with a high intellectual and professional status.
Self-portrait, 1498. Young and fashionably dressed, returning from a trip to Italy, the artist wrote on the wall under the window: “I painted this from myself. I was 26 years old. Albrecht Durer." Prado Museum, Madrid
In 1500, these trends culminate in the Self-Portrait as Christ. Here the idealized appearance, known from earlier self-portraits, was replaced by a stern, piercing image. The figure is strictly frontal, the eyes attract attention, the tones of carnation are complemented by various shades of brown, the background is dark. In this work, Durer obviously sought to convey the idea that the artist, like God, is a creator.
The artist painted himself strictly from the front, which was only allowed in images of Christ. “I, Albrecht Dürer, Nuremberger, painted myself in eternal colors at the age of 28,” the inscription reads. Dürer's self-identification with Christ in this portrait predetermined the subsequent images of Christ that he created; they always had similarities with the artist himself.
Self-portrait, 1500. Alte Pinakothek, Munich
“Dürer is sick,” the artist wrote in 1510, depicting himself naked. He drew a yellow circle on his stomach and made an explanation: “Where the yellow spot is and where my finger points, that’s where it hurts.”
"Dürer - Sick", 1510. Kunsthalle, Bremen
All his life, Dürer, like an obsessive man, tried to find a formula for beauty with a ruler and a compass. In his early treatises on painting, he wrote: “...what is beautiful - I don’t know that... No one except God can judge the beautiful.” But no matter how much time he spent searching for the ideal proportions of the human body, the formula of beauty was known to him in other ways, “inscrutable.” It was not in vain that he outlived fifteen of his brothers and sisters, and two plague epidemics did not touch him with their deadening breath, and Durer’s beauty was evidence of his chosenness and an expression of his own eternal desire for harmony.
Text: Maria Grinfeldt
The titan of the Western European Renaissance, the genius of the Renaissance, Albrecht Durer was one of brightest stars on the horizon of German painting. The greatest artist of the turn of the 15th-16th centuries became famous for his wood and copper engravings; landscapes made in watercolor and gouache, realistic living portraits. He became the first art theorist in history. Being a versatile person, Albrecht Durer created not just outstanding works, but intellectual masterpieces. Among them is the engraving “Melancholy” with its magic square.
The brilliant artist became famous for his self-portraits, which contained both skill and the unique idea of the author. During his life, Albrecht Dürer created at least 50 such works, but only a few have survived to this day. What is remarkable about Durer's self-portraits? Why do they still make enthusiastic admirers of his work tremble?
Self-portraits as a biography of Albrecht Durer
Biographers say that the master Albrecht Durer was an extremely attractive young man, and his love for self-portraits was partly due to a vain desire to please people. However, this was not their true purpose. Dürer's self-portraits are a reflection of his inner world and views on art, the history of the evolution of intelligence and development artistic taste. They can be used to trace the entire life of the artist. Each stage is new job, strikingly different from the previous one. Dürer made a self-portrait a separate genre in fine arts, and his works as a whole became a living biography of the artist. They can sometimes tell more than any book.
The first self-portrait of the great artist
Albrecht Dürer's first self-portrait was created in 1484. At that time the artist was only thirteen years old, but he already knew how to correctly convey proportions and had excellent command of a silver pin. For the first time, young Albrecht used it to draw the contours of his face. This tool leaves a silvery mark on primed paper. Over time, it acquires a brown tint. It is almost impossible to erase it from the sheet without damaging the soil. Thirteen-year-old Albrecht, however, painted a portrait of them, the creation of which would have caused difficulties even for a seasoned artist of that time.
In the drawing, young Durer looks thoughtful and at the same time strict. His gaze is filled with sadness and determination. The hand gesture speaks of an irreconcilable desire to achieve one’s goal - to become a great master of one’s craft. One day Albrecht's father saw his son's work. Dürer's first self-portrait amazed the talented jeweler. The father always wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, but after appreciating Albrecht’s work, he sent him to study in the studio of the artist Michael Wolgemut. There, young Dürer learned the basics of painting and engraving.
Early pen self-portrait
Upon completion of training, each artist, according to the tradition of that time, went on a journey. While traveling, he had to gain experience from masters from distant lands. Albrecht Durer also followed this path. The self-portrait he painted during his trip to Europe was executed in a completely different manner. It shows the young artist’s ability to reflect on paper the inner state of a person’s soul. This time Durer used a pen, and his mood was different. In the drawing “Self-Portrait with a Bandage,” Albrecht’s face is full of torment and undisguised pain. It is covered with wrinkles, which make the image more gloomy. The cause of the torment is not known for certain, but there is no doubt that it took place.
Self-portrait, 1493
Towards the end of Albrecht's wanderings, news of his imminent marriage overtook him. Then, in the 15th century, parents themselves chose a couple for their children. Albrecht's father found a bride from a noble Nuremberg family. The young artist did not object to marrying Agnes Frey. There is a point of view that it was on the occasion of such an event that Durer wrote “Self-Portrait with a Thistle.” In those days, it was considered the norm that future spouses met right at the wedding, so the young artist decided to make future wife special gift.
In the portrait, Albrecht is 22 years old. The young man looked into the distance. He is focused and thoughtful. Albrecht’s eyes are a little squinty due to the fact that he worked on the portrait while looking at himself in the mirror. The artist holds a thistle in his hands. It became the subject of controversy between fans of Durer's work.
Controversy surrounding Self-Portrait with a Thistle
Equivalent to the word "thistle" in German is männertreu, which literally translates as “male fidelity.” This clearly indicates that the self-portrait was intended for Agnes Frey. However, opponents of this point of view argue that the thistle is a symbol of the passion of Christ, and the thorns of the plant represent the torment of Jesus. In addition, Dürer wrote on the self-portrait: “My affairs are controlled by the Almighty.” And this also clearly indicates that this painting is an expression of the artist’s submission and devotion to God, and not a gift to his future wife. However, only Dürer himself knew the truth.
Italian work, 1498
The next work of the master Albrecht in the genre of self-portrait was completed in Italy. The artist always wanted to go to this country and get acquainted with the unique tradition Italian painting. The young wife and her family did not support the idea of travel, but the plague epidemic that swept through Nuremberg made the desired trip possible. Dürer was struck by the bright riot of colors of the Italian landscapes. He depicted nature with incredible clarity for that time. Dürer became the first landscape painter in the history of art. His ideal was now a correct image, corresponding to nature and geometry. The creative atmosphere of Italy helped him accept himself as an innovative artist. And this is fully reflected in his Italian self-portrait.
It depicts a self-confident person who has realized his calling, the mission of the creator of beauty and the credo of a thinker. This is how Dürer became. The self-portrait, the description of which allows one to judge the changes in his self-awareness, is one of the artist’s most famous works. Dürer is full of dignity in it. His posture is straight and his gaze expresses confidence. Albrecht is richly dressed. His carefully curled hair falls to his shoulders. And in the background of the self-portrait you can see the Italian landscape - the artist’s pure inspiration.
Four Temperaments
Dürer's next work fully reflects his nature as a thinker, as well as his desire for self-knowledge. The self-portrait is dedicated to the Greek doctrine of the four temperaments. According to him, people are divided into melancholics and phlegmatics. In the engraving “Men's Bath,” the great artist embodied each type of temperament in an individual person. Dürer considered himself melancholic. An unknown astrologer once told him about this. It can be assumed that it is in this role that he is depicted in the engraving. The artist depicted himself as a flutist entertaining his friends.
"Self-portrait as Christ", 1500
Durer returned from Italy no longer a timid student, but a master of his craft. At home, Albrecht received many orders that brought him fame. His work was already known outside his native Nuremberg, and the artist himself put his business on a commercial basis. At the same time, a new century was approaching, the onset of which was to be marked by the end of the world. The intense period of eschatological anticipation had a significant impact on the master Albrecht. And in 1500 the most famous work, which Dürer created, “Self-portrait in the image of Christ.”
He photographed himself from the front, which was unthinkable courage in the 16th century. All the portraits of that time were distinguished by one common feature: ordinary people They were always depicted half-turned, and only Jesus was an exception. Dürer became the first artist to violate this unspoken ban. the perfect wavy hair really makes him look like Christ. Even the hand, depicted at the bottom of the canvas, is folded in a gesture typical of the holy father. The colors in the picture are subdued. Against a background of black, red, white and brown shades The artist's face stands out clearly. Dressed in robes trimmed with fur, master Albrecht seemed to compare himself with a creator who creates his own special, mysterious and unique world with a chisel and brush.
Religious self-portraits
Dürer's subsequent self-portraits had a pronounced religious character. The 16th century was full of upheavals associated with the awareness of the role of God in life common man. Martin Luther made a strong contribution to this issue, trying to convey the essence Christian teaching to people. And Dürer wrote numerous religious compositions. Among them are the “Feast of the Rosary” and “Adoration of the Holy Trinity.” In them, Durer is not only a master, but also a participant in sacred actions. In this way he paid tribute to devotion to God.
The most candid self-portrait
One of the artist’s most controversial and mysterious works, “Nude Self-Portrait,” has religious overtones. Albrecht Dürer portrayed himself in the image of Christ the Martyr. They talk about it thin face, emaciated body, pose reminiscent of Jesus during the scourging. Even the fold of skin depicted by the artist above the right thigh may have symbolic meaning. There was one of the wounds received by Christ.
The drawing was made with pen and brush on tinted green paper. Exact time The creation of the self-portrait is unknown, but based on the age of the artist in the painting, it can be assumed that he painted it in the first decade of the 16th century. It is reliably known that the author kept the work at home and did not present it to the general public. No artist before or after him depicted himself completely naked. The drawing, shocking in its frankness, can hardly be found in publications dedicated to art.
Albrecht Durer's last self-portraits
Dürer's subsequent self-portraits predicted his imminent death. In the Netherlands, he was struck by a strange illness, which no one had any idea about at that time. Now historians can only assume that it was malaria. The artist had problems with the spleen, which he clearly indicated in the self-portrait “Dürer - Sick” with a yellow spot. He sent this drawing to his doctor and wrote to him short message. It said that the place where the yellow spot is depicted causes pain. A reflection of the artist’s physical condition and a continuation of the religious theme was “Self-portrait in the image of the suffering Christ.” It depicts Dürer, tormented by an unknown illness and spiritual discord, the cause of which was, perhaps, the Reformation and related events.
He soon died, leaving to his descendants the greatest legacy of his time. Dürer's self-portraits, kept in the most famous galleries in the world, such as the Louvre in Paris and the Prado in Madrid, still amaze with their inner strength and almost mystical beauty.
Albrecht Durer(German Albrecht Dürer, May 21, 1471, Nuremberg - April 6, 1528, Nuremberg) - German painter and graphic artist, one of the greatest masters of the Western European Renaissance. Recognized as the largest European master of woodblock printing, who raised it to the level of real art. The first art theorist among Northern European artists, author practical guide in fine and decorative arts in German, who promoted the need for the diversified development of artists. Founder of comparative anthropometry. The first European artist to write an autobiography. The emergence of the Northern European self-portrait as an independent genre is associated with the name of Dürer. One of the best portrait painters of his time, he highly valued painting because it made it possible to preserve the image of a particular person for future generations.
Dürer's creative path coincided with the culmination German Renaissance, the complex, largely disharmonious nature of which left its mark on all of his art. It accumulates the wealth and originality of German artistic traditions, constantly manifested in the appearance of Dürer’s characters, far from the classical ideal of beauty, in the preference for sharp-character, in attention to individual details. At the same time, contact with Italian art, the secret of harmony and perfection of which he tried to comprehend. He is the only master of the Northern Renaissance who, in terms of the focus and versatility of his interests, the desire to master the laws of art, the development of perfect proportions of the human figure and the rules of perspective construction, can be compared with the greatest masters Italian Renaissance.
Albrecht Durer “Self-Portrait”, Oil on wood, 67 × 49 cm, 1500 g.
This self-portrait made an unforgettable impression on those who saw it. Already at the initial stage of work on the portrait, Albrecht committed, from the point of view of the medieval canons of art, a genuine blasphemy: he began to paint himself from the front - from a perspective unthinkable for depicting mere mortals, even a great painter. Only God was allowed to be written this way. But Dürer went further: he gave his appearance the features of Jesus Christ. Accident? It is unlikely, for it is known that in subsequent works the artist repeatedly used himself as a model for the image of Christ.
The rumor about the artist's new creation, although it was never exhibited publicly and always remained the master's property, spread throughout the city and soon spread beyond its borders. There was every reason to blame Dürer for his exorbitant pride, especially in this terrible time (1500 - anticipation of the end of the world). But even his pride was forgiven. The picture revealed not only new stage in German portrait painting. She seemed to be saying that man created God in his own image.